Did you know that when you buy certain beverages, you are paying an added fee that is supposed to be refundable?

[Lliam]

The fee was originated as an incentive for consumers to return the bottles for recycling. And it worked. Over 90% of bottles got recycled instead of going to dumps or being tossed onto the roadside. You basically bought the drink but rented the bottle.

But where, these days, can you return your containers for a full refund of the money you paid?

It used to be that beverage producers paid for recycled bottles. But as large bottling companies gained increasing power, they lobbied to eliminate their financial responsibility. It's profitable for businesses to externalize their costs. Avoiding the price of their own air, water, and solid waste pollution are prime examples.

When I was a kid, everyone saved their bottles and returned them to the store for cash. Kids could collect bottles to get some spending money. Schools would have annual "bottle drives" where students encouraged their neighbors to save bottles for them. I remember making the rounds of the neighborhood with my wagon to collect bottles for the school.

Stores no longer accept empty bottles. Recycling centers have closed. Not even the waste management center (dump) will pay for recyclables anymore.

Beverage companies pay lip service to their support for environmentalism while lobbying hard behind the scenes against any responsibility. They want tax payers to pay for recycling.

Is it fair that we still pay a "deposit" even though there are few places who will refund it?

The following article gives some history and explains Coca Cola's tactics:
https://theintercept.com/2019/10/18/coca-cola-recycling-plastics-pollution/

And here's an article about the difficulty in trying to recover the "deposits":
https://abc7news.com/do-stores-take-bottles-cans-recycling-redeeming-crv-at-store/5553583/

[lightbulb27]

yes it seems the value of this has not kept up with inflation and so people throw these things on the ground like they are worthless.

There is one recycling place nearby that collects and pays for these items. I personally go around my neighborhood picking up trash [as there is a lot of it left by people who don't care or don't know how to put things in trash cans properly] and separate and recycle these items. There are people there collecting money for cans/bottles and some this is one way they eat. I met an "older black woman" whom I donated some of my items to since she didn't have enough to have breakfast. Finding sufficient items to collect requires transportation... which is expensive. Those at the bottom rungs of society have less means to exist as physical money is disappearing and cost to get around goes up along with food. no wonder the "smart" ones just stole my cat converter.

There's talk of raising the value to $.10 per.

I wonder what happens to all this stuff recycled... is this our carpet and "vinyl flooring"? We produce way too much waste in our society and our people are not well trained or disciplined.

It all reminds me of a commercial from childhood of the crying Indian. Sadly, it's true to some extent.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/h0sxwGlTLWw

But it sure tastes good for the few small moments of consumption...

[OlderAndWiser]

As a child, I remember walking along the road looking for bottles that ignorant people had discarded. If I got $3.00 in deposits, I thought I was rich! I never realized that I was helping the county to keep right-of-ways clean, too!

[Lliam]

Same here, bro. :-)

[OlderAndWiser]

Thanks for MHO!

[VIVANT]

Where I am, you take the bottles to return centers w/ machines (at some stores) and the machine suck in the bottles, then gives you a receipt. I think it’s like 5 cents a bottle but I’m not sure 🤔. You can even just give one hottie and you still get a big receipt paper — it’s kinda funny, well, I thought it was bc I only just discovered it 😊

[Lliam]

That's great! I with we had that in California. And I wish taxpayers weren't paying for it.

[VIVANT]

It is cool 😃 and I agree with you X 2 👍🏼

[exitseven]

I return them to a grocery store that has an area set up for this. They make it easy so everyone goes there.

[Lliam]

That's how if should work. :-)

[exitseven]

I used to run a lot and can remember having my long run on Sunday and seeing all the empty beer bottles and cans littered all over the street. Kids would drive around and just throw the empties out the window. The so called bottle bill went into effect and the streets got cleaned up overnight

[Brainsbeforebeauty]

Bottles, cans, newspapers.. You used to get money for recycling all of that when I was a girl. Think there's still a recycling center near me that pays for cans but don't think they pay for bottles

[Daniela1982]

If I wanted to I would have a hard time finding a store to take your cans or bottles. And they say aluminum for making cans is scarce let they won't let us recycle our cans. Someone needs to give them a kick in their cans.

[Juxtapose]

Just another example of how corporations become more powerful than nations over time. Who's really calling the shots here, these companies or the government?

[Lliam]

And it's interesting how a powerful corporation like Coca Cola can protect it public image by hiding behind yet funding organizations like the American Bottler's Association, and by creating astroturf lobbying organizations like Green America.

[Guy13]

Not happening now, right?